1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electric connector electrically connecting two printed circuit boards spaced away from and facing each other, and further to a terminal pin employed in the electric connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known an electric connector including a plurality of bar-shaped terminal pins aligned in a row. Terminals formed at one of ends of the terminal pins are inserted into through-holes formed through a first printed circuit board, and terminals formed at the other ends of the terminals are inserted into through-holes formed through a second printed circuit board, thereby electric circuits mounted on the first and second printed circuit boards are electrically connected to each other.
FIG. 27 is a perspective view of the connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. H4(1992)-29196, and FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view of the connector sandwiched between two printed circuit boards.
As illustrated in FIG. 27, the connector includes a plurality of terminal pins 101. As illustrated in FIG. 28, each of the terminal pins 101 is bent by about 90 degrees at a lower end, and is soldered onto a first printed circuit board P1 at the L-shaped lower end. Further, each of the terminal pins 101 is inserted into a female connector 102 mounted on a second printed circuit board P2.
FIG. 29 is a perspective view of the pin header disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H7(1995)-230862.
As illustrated in FIG. 29, a plurality of terminal pins 103 are supported with an upper holder 104 and a lower holder 105 each formed at upper and lower ends of board 106. The board 106 includes a plurality of projections 107 horizontally aligned at a central zone of the board 106. Each of the projections 107 is located in a space formed between the adjacent terminal pins 103 to thereby electrically insulate the adjacent terminal pins 103 from each other.
In an electric connector electrically connecting printed circuit boards to each other through terminal pins aligned in a row, a positional relation between the printed circuit boards is quite important. For instance, when printed circuit boards are connected to each other by inserting terminal pins into through-holes formed through the printed circuit boards, if a position relation between the printed circuit boards is deflected, the terminal pins might not be able to be inserted into one of the printed circuit board, even if the terminal pins can be inserted into the other printed circuit board. In particular, in the case a plurality of electric connectors is employed, there is a high possibility that the terminal pins cannot be inserted into one of the printed circuit boards.
In the above-mentioned connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. H4(1992)-29196, since one of the terminals of the terminal pin 101 is connected to the second printed circuit board P2 through the female connector 102, even if a positional relation between the first and second printed circuit boards P1 and P2 were slightly deflected, it is considered that the female connector 102 can absorb the deflection. However, the connector has to include the female connector 102 in order to absorb the deflection in a positional relation between the first and second printed circuit boards P1 and P2, a number of parts in the connector is not avoidable from increasing.
In the pin header disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H7(1995)-230862, though the terminal pins 103 are inserted directly into printed circuit boards, the terminal pins 103 are merely held by the upper holder 104 and the lower holder 105, and each of the projections 107 merely separates the adjacent terminal pins 103 from each other. Consequently, if a positional relation between the printed circuit boards is deflected, since positions of the terminal pins 103 and a space between the adjacent terminal pins 103 are restricted by the upper holder 104 and the lower holder 105, even if the terminal pins 103 were able to be inserted into through-holes formed through one of the printed circuit boards, the terminal pins 103 might not be able to be inserted into through-holes formed through the other printed circuit board.